Gary Lineker to “step back” from presenting Match of the Day amid BBC impartiality row
The BBC has confirmed that Match of the Day presenter, Gary Lineker, “will step back from presenting Match of the Day until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media.”
There had been calls to sack the 62-year-old by Tory MPs, who claim Lineker broke BBC impartiality rules with a tweet that claimed the Government’s language in relation to its new asylum policy was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”.
The decision for Lineker to step back from his role until further notice was made after “extensive discussions with Gary and his team in recent days.” The BBC added that “we have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines.”
The BBC said that “We have never said that Gary should be an opinion free zone, or that he can’t have a view on issues that matter to him, but we have said that he should keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies.”
The BBC’s decision is not what many had expected, including seemingly Lineker himself. The ex-footballer-turned presenter had appeared to confirm that he was set to remain as the host of the BBC’s flagship football show, Match of the Day.
Lineker released a tweet yesterday that said: “Well, it’s been an interesting couple of days. Happy that this ridiculously out-of-proportion story seems to be abating and very much looking forward to presenting @BBCMOTD on Saturday. Thanks again for all your incredible support. It’s been overwhelming.”
Dan Walker revealed on Channel 5 that Lineker told him that he had not agreed to step back, but instead had been forced to as a result of him refusing to apologise for his tweet.
Immediately after the news broke, fellow presenter Ian Wright announced that he would not be appearing on this week’s edition of Match of the Day in solidarity with Lineker
Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) March 10, 2023
The final member of the usual Match of the Day presenting trio, Alan Shearer, has also informed the BBC that he will not be appearing on the show this week.
Reacting to Lineker’s tweet, the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, described the former England internationals comparison as “lazy and unhelpful” adding that “to throw out those kind of flippant analogies diminishes the unspeakable tragedy that millions of people went through.”
Richard Ayre, a former member of Ofcom’s content board described Lineker’s comments as “unacceptable”. Mr Ayre, who previously worked as an editorial policy controller at the BBC, said that companies director general, Tim Davie, wouldn’t have “any choice but to let him go unless he can be certain that this is the end of it”.
Lineker is currently the highest paid presenter working for the BBC, earning a salary of around £1,350,000 per year.
